LAKEVILLE - Adversity. LaVille overcame its share of misfortunes and difficulties Tuesday night in the quarterfinal round of the 61st everwise Bi-County Basketball Tournament. Triton and the host Lancers battled for 32 minutes before LHS found a way to survive 46-40 over the Trojans at Dale E. Cox Gymnasium. Coach Nicholas Amor club defeated Triton, 53-34 on December 3, but the fourth-year Lancer coach knows Triton has improved since that game early in the season. "Triton is a team that's gotten a lot better over the past month," said Amor, prior to Tuesday's opening round game. "They have good guard play that really wants to attack the basket and get to the rim ..." The dilemma that faced Amor and his club were fouls.  As teams split their teams into a junior varsity and varsity roster for this tournament, most coaches and teams try to manage games the best they can when the bench has two or three players in case of injury or foul troubles. While the teams battled to a three point difference at halftime - 21-18 in favor of the Lancers - the second half was physical and both teams showed grit and determination. Neither team could manage much more than a two possession lead, but a crucial 3-pointer from deep in the left corner by freshman Lexi McQueen gave LHS a 28-23 lead late in the period. Amor's crew then started the fourth quarter on a 10-3 run to forge a 40-29 lead with under four minutes left in regulation. Another trey by McQueen, this time from deep in the right corner, and 5 of 10 from the free throw line helped LaVille separate. Triton, however, was able to cut into the Lancer lead at 44-40, but a final run of 6 of 8 charity tosses set the final margin. "I really thought the girls did a good job of being patient, reversing the ball and looking for the right shot," said Amor after watching his club advance to Thursday's semifinal against Bremen. LHS finished 16 of 26 from the free throw line, but Amor knows it could have been better. "Yeah, we are going to be shooting a lot of free throws tomorrow (at practice)," Amor said when asked about the Lancer free throw state.  "We really needed to hit a lot more of those. We could have really put them away.  That is the emphasis. Yeah we won but we could've put them away. That is why free throws are so important." The physicality of this rivalry game put LaVille in foul trouble early, as both Faith Mejer and Ava Weil picked up two fouls in the opening quarter. The foul situation got the Lancer bench active as Cloie Davis, Syd Williams, and McQueen were asked to step up. More whistle trouble to start the third stanza put Mejer on the bench with two quick fouls in just 18 seconds.  Mejer fouled out, while Weil, McQueen and Markin finished with four fouls. A total of 40 fouls were called and 44 free throws were shot. Amor shared his praise for how his club handled the adversity. "Just sticking with it through some adversity," Amor explained when asked about what impressed him about his team.  "It wasn't the easiest game to play. Triton did a good job just grinding and they were with us the whole time. "And sometimes you really need these types of games to figure out who you are so you can go work on it the next day." Another rival, 2A #6 Bremen is next up for LaVille in the everwise Bi-County tournament semifinal January 22. That 8pm semifinal will follow the 6:30pm opener between John Glenn (16-4) and Oregon-Davis (8-11) The Lions defeated the Lancers  58-36 on December 6 inside Dale E. Cox Gymnasium. Coach Amor knows that, "anything can happen this week. Triton is a team we beat by 19 early in the season, which means if Triton can play us that close, why can't we play Bremen that close?" Markin led a balanced attack for LHS with 12 points and eight rebounds. McQueen came off the bench to tie her career high of 11 points. Weil added 10 points and eight boards, while Madi Singleton chipped in with eight points and four steals "Denni and Maddie in the first half attacking the basket and finding ways to get to the rim when we were able to get our primary shooting option open for jump shots and helped keep us in the game and active scoring," noted Amor when asked to talk about some key contributions. "Then Ava being extremely solid at the end of the game getting to the rim and finishing at the free line. Lexie has just been stepping up as a freshman filling whatever role I need her to, sometimes post. sometimes play guard. She stepped up and hit two big key threes for us to keep us in the game and extend the lead to nine points." All in all, the Lancers showed resilience in the face of adversity. 61st everwise Bi-County Basketball Tournament Girls Quarterfinal LaVille 46  Triton 40 At Lakeville Score By Quarters Triton 12 6 7 15 -40 LaVille 11 19 7 18 - 46 Triton - Savannah Hawley 12, Sierra Hawley 12, Chloe McKinney 5, Mylie Groves 7, Lydia Hammond 0, Janika Kemp 2, Jillian Bulles 2, Austyn Wright 0, Avery Viers 0. Totals: 10 18-28 40 LaVille - Syd Williams 0, Faith Mejer 5, Lexi McQueen 11, Madi Singleton 8, Cloie Davis 0, Ava Weil 10, Morgan Schmidt 0, Denni Markin 12. Totals 13 16-26 46 3-point field goals: Triton 2 (Sierra Hawley, Groves), LaVille 4 (McQueen 2, Mejer, Markin) Total fouls (fouled out): Triton 19 (none), LaVille 21 (Mejer) Team records: Triton 6-13, LaVille 7-11 Next game: Triton v New Prairie , Bremen v LaVille in semifinal round of everwise Bi-County Basketball Tournament, Jan 22.